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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27159749">falling [interlude]</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/'>Anonymous</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Blaseball (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Season 10 Election, THE SHELLED ONE’S PODS</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 23:54:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>775</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27159749</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>a little blurb about JT falling from the Pods, and what happened after.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Anonymous</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>falling [interlude]</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hi! i'm posting this anonymously because i am shy and i don't usually write fic (be nice pls). please note that this is just my interpretation of all characters and events, and that everything nice is true in blaseball. lore is not set in stone.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Jessica Telephone fell to the Breath Mints.</em>
</p><p>Jess is falling. She feels herself plummeting endlessly, through the dark void of an infinite immaterial plane. She falls further than she ever thought possible. <em>It might never stop</em>, she thinks dully, <em>I might be stuck here forever, this could be it</em>. Her hair whips around her face, her hat falls off, her blaseball bat trails uselessly behind her. <em>What if this is it?</em></p><p>But she’s been through worse and survived. She will survive this. She has to. For Esme. For York, and for Axel, and for Nagomi and for Jaylen and for everyone on the Steaks and for the Pies and for the Tigers and for - Seb. Oh god, no, Seb, that’s right, oh no, wait - </p><p>~</p><p>Jess doesn't know when or where she wakes up. She doesn't remember falling asleep. The world is cold and dark, rolling plains and a moonless night quietly engulfing her. In a past life she may have been Jessica Telephone, wielder of the Dial Tone, notable Blaseball star, but for tonight she is simply alone. Stranded, hopelessly, in a field in the middle of nowhere. </p><p>~</p><p>When she wakes up again, it’s to a bright sun and distant chatter. From far away she can see figures approaching, laughing amongst one another and preparing for the day. All of a sudden, the noise stops. Someone jogs over to where she lays curled in the middle of the blaseball diamond.</p><p>”Hey, are you alright?” the voice asks. “We were gonna practice here for a bit, but you’re kind of in the way.”</p><p>”IZZIE!” hisses someone else, “You can’t just SAY that, don’t be rude.”</p><p>Jess turns her head to see a woman and... a tree, both staring expectantly. “Where am I? Who are you? What’s going on?” she demands. There are murmurs as she stands, the whole team now here and watching as she dusts herself off and grabs her bat.</p><p>”You’re... Jessica Telephone. <em>The</em> Jessica Telephone.” Jess can’t tell who asks, and honestly doesn’t know if she cares. It doesn’t matter. She'll be out of here soon, anyway.</p><p>”Um. Yes? That’s me.”</p><p>Eventually, another figure pushes through the crowd and outstretches their hand. "I'm Stew Briggs, captain of the Kansas City Breath Mints. Are you alright?"</p><p>~</p><p>Jess watches alone from the stands as the Mints finish their practice. As bags are packed and dinner is ordered, Stew approaches. "So," she says, "have you made up your mind?"</p><p>Jessica sighs. "I don't know. I just wish I could go home."</p><p>Stew nods. "Where is that?"</p><p>"I..." Jess's voice breaks. "I don't think I know anymore."</p><p>Stew smiles sadly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry it all turned out this way for you. You deserve better than this, and you deserve better than... than us." She ducks her head, averting her gaze, and takes a deep breath before continuing. "If you decide to leave, we won't hold it against you." Another pause. "But, if not, just know that you're always welcome here with us in Kansas City. We'd be glad to have you." She awkwardly pats Jess's knee before jogging away to catch up with her teammates, leaving Jess alone with her thoughts once again.</p><p>~</p><p>When Jess gets back to the hotel room she's rented for the night, she finds a blaseball glove on her bed, atop a neatly folded Mints uniform. Next to it lies a small green sticky note with nothing on it but a small heart and a smiley face. As she gets ready for bed, a voice in the back of her head nags her. <em>Would it hurt to join them? Would it hurt to stay here?</em></p><p>"I am <em>not</em> staying here," she spits out, to no one but herself. "I don't know where I belong, but there's no way it's in <em>Kansas City</em>. Anywhere but here."</p><p><em>Why not?</em>  The voice says. <em>They've been so kind. What if this is a good thing? What if this is what you’ve been needing?</em></p><p>~</p><p>Upon waking up in the morning, Jess discovers the uniform fits her perfectly. The glove has already been broken in. Really, there's only one thing left to do, and she walks decisively out the door with a renewed sense of purpose that she hasn't felt in years.</p><p>~</p><p>Jess takes a deep breath and looks around the empty locker room one last time before following the rest of her teammates out onto the field. Kansas City isn't where she thought she would end up, never in a million years, but in this moment it feels right. The light of the new season hits her face as she walks up to the plate.</p><p>Play ball.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>bby's first fic be kind, lmk what you think!! keep in mind that this is completely unbeta'd and i wrote it in less than an hour on a whim. love me some jt though.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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